Planned cuts will open up a major north-south divide in Birmingham libraries, it has been warned.

The council is currently consulting over plans to slash the community library budget by £1.9 million a year and have earmarked the costly Sutton Coldfield Library and Aston Library for closure.

But the proposals also mean that residents north of the M6, including Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, Castle Vale and Kingstanding will be left with just two major community libraries out of 19 in the city.

Opposition Conservatives are now calling on the ruling Labour group to reconsider the plans and upgrade Kingstanding Library and retain a library service in the centre of Sutton Coldfield.

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The proposals, launched last week, rate libraries into four tiers - with the top tier one libraries having the longest opening times, 35 hours per week, and highest staffing levels.

Tory leader Robert Alden (Erdington) said: “There is a clear north-south divide with these proposals - there are just six tier one libraries in the north, and just two north of Spaghetti Junction, which represents a fifth of the city’s population.”

His colleague Gary Sambrook (Kingstanding) added: “Kingstanding is the 113th most deprived ward in the country. This library service is very much needed.” He also pointed out that no Labour cabinet members represent wards to the north of the M6.

Sutton Coldfield Library was flooded after taps were left running for almost 48 hours

But Labour council deputy leader Ian Ward (Shard End) said that the locations of cabinet members wards was not a criteria for cuts and added that the Conservative points would be considered before the cuts are finalised early next year.

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He said that he is listening to views on the plans and open to alternative suggestions which can deliver the best service within the available budget.

Cllr Ward added that the book fund, the amount the libraries spend on new stock, will stay at £380,000 per year and will not be raided to prop up other parts of the service as it had in the past.

He said that both Aston and Sutton Library closures would be offset by increased hours at branches nearby. Aston Library building, which the council does not own, is scheduled for demolition, while Sutton Coldfield’s building was the council’s most expensive.

He said he would also consider concerns raised by Cllr Alden over the plans for more swipe card self-service unmanned libraries and agreed to look closely at concerns around personal safety and the impact on vulnerable groups.

The Friends of the Library of Birmingham are staging a protest against the cuts outside Sutton Coldfield Library between noon and 2pm on Wednesday, October 19.